Flag of Taiwan

The Taiwan flag is a strong symbol of Chinese history. It is built from elements that embody China's past, which gives the Taiwan flag meaning as a symbol of Chinese culture that does not have any ties to communist ideology. That historical value also gives the Taiwan flag meaning as a symbol of a unified China, and it is often used to represent that goal outside of the nation that is represents.

Religions in Taiwan: Mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist, Christian

Colors and Symbolism: Taiwan Flag Meaning

The Taiwan flag has a bright red field with a blue rectangle in the canton. A white sun with twelve rays is placed inside the rectangle. The red field was chosen to represent the blood shed by the revolutionary movement that fought to overthrow the Qing dynasty. Red is commonly used as a symbol of good luck in Chinese culture, which gives the field additional symbolic value. The blue field represents liberty and the sky. The white sun is a symbol of equality and democracy. It has twelve rays in order to represent the twelve months of the year and the twelve shichen into which the day has traditionally been divided in China.

The flag as a whole is a complicated symbol of Chinese nationalism and history. It once represented all of China, so it it serves as a symbol of the unified nation. It also represents a clear break from the modern flag of the People's Republic of China, so it also represents separation from the rest of the nation.

History of the Taiwan Flag

Many Chinese dynasties had flags of their own that date back many years, but the modern flag of Taiwan is relatively young. It originated with the flags used by the revolutionary movements that fought against the Qing dynasty in China, most notably the Society for Regenerating China which provided the sun emblem for the flag. The modern flag came into use in 1928. It represented all of China at the time, although some regions used other revolutionary flags in an unofficial capacity. The flag fell out of use in mainland China after the Chinese Civil War, but Taiwan has retained it as a symbol of its past without making any changes since it was first adopted.